40Acts: Day Three - Using your gifts

Baroness Cox used this verse as the basis for her reflection today:
Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother’s womb.”
Psalm 139:13
She encouraged us to make a list if our tools, that is the skills and abilities that God has given us, and to consider how we might use them during this project, today's challenge was to choose one of these tools and use it to bless someone.
It is a good challenge and writting the skills list was fine but I have struggled with this today for two reasons,
a) I like time to plan, think ahead so receiving the challenge on the day was unsettling
b) I was out all day!
However I knew who I wanted to bless so I did have a starting point at least!

So I took some time out after school to make a card and write to some friends who are going through a tough time, it is posted with love and prayer and the hope that it may bring some encouragement.

40Acts: Day Two - planning ahead

Today's reflection by Andy Frost encourages us to live lives to the full, and recognise the ways in which we have been blessed and from this position look to be a blessing to others.
I want to be both more thankful for what I have and more generous with what I have.
So today's challenge us to start a generosity jar. I like this idea, the principle of setting a little money aside regularly so that when an opportunity arises to be generous and bless someone there is a pot to draw from.

At the moment it just has loose change, so we have to decide if we are going to set aside a set amount or just collect the shrapnel! But either way, I'm looking forward to seeing how we can use it in a few weeks time.

40Acts: Day One - Today I am thankful for...

So were off! Today's challenge was to start a journal.

We were encouraged to list the things that we are thankful for today and to list some of the people that we would like to bless over these 40 days.

The reflection was from Mike O'Neill with the encouragement to record the past in order to better understand the present.

It was good to stop and ask that question, because the truth is I often forget just how much I have to be thankful for.

40Acts

Lent isn't something that has figured highly in any of the church traditions I have been part of. But I like the idea, the concept of spending time preparing for Easter. Things that are practical and hands on also appeal to me so I was drawn to the idea of this lent series so I've registered for the challenge :

http://www.40acts.org.uk Not totally sure what it involves but it will be fun finding out, and it will be a challenge but hopefully one we can embrace as a family.

Life from the back of the pack: Bird feeder update!

So the starlings have gone, for now, but this wasn't quite the little bird I had in mind!

 

Life from the back of the pack: Bird Feeders

During our visit to Wimpole Hall the girls had the opportunity to make pine cone bird feeders.

Still smiling , so just before she discovered that she did not like the smell of the lard!

Mixing seed into the lard

Filling the pine cone with the mixture

All ready to hang in the garden for the birds. Trying to catch the birds without spooking them with three excited girls jumping around was a challenge! And to be honest the pictures aren't great but hey you get the idea!

So that's the starlings fed the challenge is to spot some other little birds!

 

 

Life from the back of the pack: Half term part two

Winpole Hall

This is another national trust property not far from home, we have previously explored the park, so this time we took a tractor down to home farm.

Playing on haybales in the barn

 

Milking - a bucket!

Something missing Keith? ...that would be two heavy buckets of milk.

Still not getting a horse!

Finally managed to extract Annie from the tree, lots still to explore so we will be back - holidays are just too short!